Railway Tourism of Taiwan

I received this amazing FDC recently as a 'thank you' from a very kind Taiwanese girl, and it made me realize that I have not posted anything Taiwanese here so far...I don't know why, but well, time to change that....and I think it's been a long while since I've dedicated an entire post to trains only, so I'll dare to do so now :))

To promote the rail tours, Chunghwa Post has selected three TRA tourist trains and tours - namely the Summer Formosa Cruise-Style Steam Engine Train - Yuli to Taitung, the Cruise-Style Trains on the South Link Line and the Evolution No.1001 - Jiji Line - for a set of three stamps.


Taiwan’s railways are fascinating and charming, and taking a vacation by rail has become quite popular in recent years. To promote rail tours, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) has launched vintage steam engine trains, cruise-style trains that “wait for the passengers,” and themed trains. Chunghwa Post has selected three tourist trains and tours for a set of three stamps. The designs follow:
- 1.Summer Formosa Cruise-Style Steam Engine Train—Yuli to Taitung (NT$5): TRA formally launched the Summer Formosa steam engine tourist train in 2012 to celebrate establishing a sister-train relationship with a steam-engine train in Japan. In recent years, in coordination with the summer peak season, TRA launched an itinerary between Yuli and Taitung, making stops at the famous tourist attractions along the way, allowing passengers to take in all the natural beauty and culture of Hualien and Taitung.
- 2.Cruise-Style Trains—South Link Line (NT$10): This cruise-style train, modeled on ocean cruises, makes stops at several stations with special local colour. Passengers get off the train for sightseeing and then get back on the train and head for the next destination. A prominent feature of the South Link Line is the abundance of bridges and tunnels. The majority of the line is built where the sea meets the mountains, allowing passengers to enjoy the spectacular mountain and ocean vistas of Taiwan’s southeast coast.
-3.The Evolution No. 1001—Jiji Line (NT$15): This train was formerly known as DSC1001 and served as the TRA director-general’s official train. It was mainly used as a temporary command center on TRA’s branch lines during natural disasters and major accidents. With the growth of tourism, TRA has employed artists to convert the train into a sci-fi-themed train with the story line that it has been taken over by alien train buffs in search of a home. It runs on the tourism-heavy Jiji Line, which features abundant cultural resources and beautiful and diverse ecology and scenery.


Curious to know how much would a ticket cost....I tried to do a search, but the returned results pointed out to something insanely cheap, so Im not really sure I did the right thing there :)


* Date of Issue: 25 November 2015
* Paper used: Phosphorescent stamp paper
* Dimension of stamps: 60 × 30 (mm)
* Perforation: 13 × 13 1/2